Back and forth on new rifle caliber.

[chasewright15]

I was dead set on getting a .284 caliber do all elk/deer/bear rifle. (Mostly archery hunter so just want one big game rifle, essentially). Less recoil for ease of shooting in hunting situations and staying on the animal, along with decent bullet weights, speed, and energy out to 600.

Butttttt now I can't get that small voice out of my head telling me to shoot a .300 caliber if hunting elk out to said distances.

I'm a factory cartridge shooter and know there are hundreds of threads on this and I've read them all. Haha.

Any guys switch from a "medium" 7mm gun to the "big" .300 calibers for strictly hunting after real world experience? Or vise versa?

 

[menhaden_man]

Guys were giving me a bad time about geeking out on this topic, but this post could be useful. But, you'll find on this forum that a .284 is either slightly too small or slightly too large for elk . Good luck!

Adding numbers to the notorious caliber debate

In rethinking my hunting arsenal, I compiled some data to get a closer look at the caliber debate. Thought I'd share here since this discussion is never-ending. There are several shortcomings in this review, though I did it on the couch during the Rose Bowl so take that for what it's worth...

www.rokslide.com

 

[PNWGATOR]

Bullets matter more than headstamps.

Pick the bullet/bullets with the best performance characteristics that deliver the terminal performance at the distances you intend to use them. Look at the minimal fps required to upset the bullet properly. Ftlbs of energy isn’t a measure of terminal performance.

Also, shooting a lot and in field conditions and positions is important. Less recoil goes a long way in making it fun.

 

[jhm2023]

So many generalizations in caliber/cartridge debates without truly understanding external and terminal ballistics. Like mentioned above, headstamps aren't nearly as important as some of the other factors, such as bullet type to match the intended use and where the shooter is consistently capable of putting said bullet. Here's is a good read for those who truly enjoy ballistics past the he said she said monologue. It's long but worth reading.

Terminal Ballistics

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[Laramie]

I was dead set on getting a .284 caliber do all elk/deer/bear rifle. (Mostly archery hunter so just want one big game rifle, essentially). Less recoil for ease of shooting in hunting situations and staying on the animal, along with decent bullet weights, speed, and energy out to 600.

Butttttt now I can't get that small voice out of my head telling me to shoot a .300 caliber if hunting elk out to said distances.

I'm a factory cartridge shooter and know there are hundreds of threads on this and I've read them all. Haha.

Any guys switch from a "medium" 7mm gun to the "big" .300 calibers for strictly hunting after real world experience? Or vise versa?

I'm also a bow hunter at heart.

No real wrong answer. I shoot a 30-06 for everything out to 500 yards. Out to 600+, I would personally prefer a 300. I have owned several smaller and larger calibers but I keep going back to the 30-06 with premium 165 grain bullets. I have found it is pretty rare that I can't get within 500 yards and most of the time inside of 300. I buy my ammo by the case and just never have to change anything.

To your last question, I did make a switch many years ago from a 7 mag to a 300 after putting 4 premium bonded rounds in an elk. It didn't go far and was likely going to die after the first hit, but as the saying goes shoot until they are on the ground. I didn't care for the 300 for a few reasons but the top 2 were recoil and ammo price. I went back to the 30-06 over 20 years ago and have no plans to ever switch again.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I killed my only elk with a 7 SAUM with a 160 grain Partition. Now, I’ll be toting my 7-08 with a 140 grain Accubonds.

However, I have no plans shooting any animal over 400 yards.

 

[manitou1]

A regular .280 160 gr Accubond or a .280 ai 168 gr NABLR handload will make a great elk cartridge past 600 yds..

 

[chasewright15]

Thanks for the replies and links. Definitely will check it out.
Yeah as far as bullets... that's a whole other convo I was trying to keep separate for now just because it's a whole other rabbit whole haha. But from my novice experience and research, I agree, it seems to matter more than just the caliber.


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[dirtytough]

For a do all cartridge I am a big fan of the 300 wsm.

 

[k80Titus]

following

 

[JPeters218]

If you’re looking to avoid recoil I’d stay out of the magnums. Personally I’d go 30-06 rather than having to put a brake on a 300wm. At 600 yards the 30-06 is still at 1200 ft lbs.

 

[2five7]

If you can't kill an Elk with any of the various big 7's, its not the bore diameter art fault. You're either using the wrong bullet, or hitting them in the wrong spot.

 

[B23]

For a do all cartridge I am a big fan of the 300 wsm.

X2!

I refer to the 300 WSM as one of those Goldilocks cartridges, it's not to big, it's not to small, it's just right and one of the best mid size cartridges for all North America game I can think of.

 

[EmperorMA]

If you can't kill an Elk with any of the various big 7's, its not the bore diameter art fault. You're either using the wrong bullet, or hitting them in the wrong spot.

^^^^ This right here. ^^^^

I'm sure there will be a flat-brim along shortly to say, "My big .300 has more ft lbs of energy at 1,000 yards!" but if you have any reaction to that, then , well .......

 

[Outlaw99]

Pick whatever one you can find bullets to shoot out of it

 

[woods89]

Bullets matter more than headstamps.

Pick the bullet/bullets with the best performance characteristics that deliver the terminal performance at the distances you intend to use them. Look at the minimal fps required to upset the bullet properly. Ftlbs of energy isn’t a measure of terminal performance.

Also, shooting a lot and in field conditions and positions is important. Less recoil goes a long way in making it fun.

This guy knows what he's talking about.

 

[Maverick1]

Whatever you can find in ammunition.....

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I was dead set on getting a .284 caliber do all elk/deer/bear rifle. (Mostly archery hunter so just want one big game rifle, essentially). Less recoil for ease of shooting in hunting situations and staying on the animal, along with decent bullet weights, speed, and energy out to 600.

Butttttt now I can't get that small voice out of my head telling me to shoot a .300 caliber if hunting elk out to said distances.

I'm a factory cartridge shooter and know there are hundreds of threads on this and I've read them all. Haha.

Any guys switch from a "medium" 7mm gun to the "big" .300 calibers for strictly hunting after real world experience? Or vise versa?

I went the other way - had a 300 rum, 300wsm, 325 wsm 7mm RM and 7mm WSM - sold them all and bought a 6.5 PRC. Kills elk just as effectively as the big magnums in my experience and is a lot more fun to shoot. I love my elk hunting...6.5 PRC/6.5-284 is the best all around big game rifle excluding big brown bears. Although I wouldn’t hesitate to take it brown bear hunting with a good bullet. I should probably add I have killed elk out past 600 yards with mine shooting 147 ELDMs. All one shot kills.

 

[SDHNTR]

If you aren't including dangerous game, go 7 mag. With the right bullet, it's just as effective and without the additional recoil.

 

[Tobey]

A regular .280 160 gr Accubond or a .280 ai 168 gr NABLR handload will make a great elk cartridge past 600 yds..

Right here. I like the unimproved version just to be contrary, I know of a couple places in town that still have ammo for it. A 160 partition or accubond will handle anything you want to eat. I'm about to sell the last of my 338's, keeping the 280 for big stuff. If you're building a rifle the 284 win is the same critter but often considered groovier on some forums, I've taken a lot of game with one but went back to the 280/7mm-08.